White Snow Falls
by Maygen Lauren
Summary: It all starts with a potion, a 'what could have been', and the search for something better.. AN: Quick tidbit of an idea warped it self into this. I apologize in advance for the headache. Buckle Up.
1. prologue

A deep maroon colored liquid fizzled within a small vial. The extract had a lilac scent; entirely inviting. Its taste would be enticing too, warm and delicious. A potion like this could be savored.

_But will the outcome be just as satisfying? _

_Have I been pushed that far? _

_Could this really be a way to get what I've always wanted? _

Voices were coming up behind the door. She had to make her decision quickly.

Raising the glass to her lips, she stilled, but her choice had already been made. Knocking back the brew, the potion fell past her teeth.

And from there, she embraced the change.


	2. one

Winter could be felt through the walls. The stone castle served to protect poorly against the ice built up around its structure. Relishing in the warmth radiating behind her, a slightly older Snow White moved closer to the source. Somehow the emanate fear that something terrible was about to happen faded and she was at peace. She was intoxicated by the familiar scent of cranberries and must. The aroma was enough for her release her eyes from their lids.

Snow had anticipated this is where should would awake from after taking the potion. She was back in her castle in the enchanted forest; at what time or day, she wasn't sure.

Bringing her eyes into focus she shifted her head to stare at the face of the man next to her; her Charming, rested with ease. A toothy smile rose to her face. She never thought she'd have the opportunity to lie in bliss with her husband in this bed again. It took every ounce of power in her small body to not reach out and grab him. Snow wanted the moment to take the change in. That's when she began to notice the aging around his eyes and under his cheeks; still painfully handsome, but definitely older than the last Charming she'd held in bed.

A slight jostle of the bed sheets reminded her of the soft heat pressed against her back. In alarm she struggled to quietly scramble to switch sides. All of a sudden the clarity needed to answer whether or not she made the right decision was lying in a blonde mess of hair in front of her.


	3. two

Snow was enthralled. This tiny blonde child asleep besides her was Emma. She was sure of it. Her arms were choked around a worn doll and only her long hair had made it to the pillow as she slept. Snow recognized the pale skin of her little one. There was no doubt in her eyes this was the life she created. She was the most beautiful little girl Snow had ever seen.

Tears formed at the edge of her eyes and she reached out to trace her daughter's face.

This is was the sole reason she took the bait and swallowed that potion. Snow wanted this moment more than anything in the world. She'd wanted to be a mother and raise Emma. She couldn't dare to think about the childhood she'd damned her adult Emma with. The guilt had been eating away at her heart since Rumple's prophecy came true and Emma was Storybrooke's great savior.

_All magic comes with a price deary_

His dark voice filled her head, but in awe of the light in front of her, she ignored it. She removed her hand from her daughter's face and drew it up to her own. Long dark locks of hair were held to her skull. She felt the heavy cloth of clothes she'd once wore just under thirty years ago. Life in the Enchanted Forest was slowly drifting back to her.

A large hand slowly snaked around her waist as a new heat pressed up against her back. A soft kiss was placed against her neck as the hand nestled under the fabric of her dress. Goosebumps tingled to life on her bare skin.

"How is it you've awoken before Emma for once?" Charming's voice sneered playfully.

Snow turned to her back and starred up at him. "I just.. needed to take it all in"

With a laugh he leaned down to touch their lips together in a morning greeting. "I know that feeling. How did we get so fortunate?"

She didn't have an answer. She wasn't even sure if this was a reality. But it sure did feel real; his hands on her skin, the feather mattress beneath her, their angelic daughter besides her. She had to stop questioning it and just bask in her new existence.

A thought rose to her lips. "How did we get to be so lucky?" She paused. "Even with the curse and all that could have been"

Charming looked confused. "What curse?" He brushed the hair from her face with his thumb. "Were you dreaming?"

She shook her head. "The one the evil queen sought to release on the Enchanted Forest."

His brow creased. "Snow, Regina has been cast away to darkness for life since her threats on our family and our people. Why are you so worried now?"

With a shrug she smiled. "I guess I'm not."

"You're acting quite strange this morning" Charming teased.

"Forgive me" Snow laughed. "I must not have gotten enough sleep."

He left her bedside with a quick kiss. "Then I'll leave you here to rest a while longer. I'm going to take one of the horses out for a morning ride; unless you'd like to join"

As tempting as that sounded Snow turned to face her sleeping child. She shook her head. "As much fun as that sounds, I'll stay here with our sleeping beauty" Snow inertly chuckled as Charming leant down to kiss her hand and leave his girls to rest.

The brunette watched him go until he was out of sight, having passed down the stone corridor. Snow had forgotten just what it was like to live in this home. The warm clothes she'd layer herself in to retain some heat and the endless people to weight on her hand and foot.

There were the responsibilities as well; though she wasn't sure they'd be quite the same in this time. Before she'd been fighting Regina and working to bring her people together in unity. She'd tend to the needs of her kingdom and fix what had been broken, but what now? What was her purpose, her responsibility, in this world?

A groan sounded besides her and Snow's attention was back on the stirring blonde. She waited in anticipation as the child snuggled her face into her doll. Her hand set it free as her fingers searched for something further out of the sheets to grab. She whined briefly until she took hold of Snow's nightgown.

Her blazing blue eyes popped open in a fit of worry until she found her mother staring back at her.

"You don't belong here" Emma whispered.

Snow's heart dropped to her stomach in concern. Surely she shouldn't have believed this would all be so simple.

"This is my bed" The young one continued.

With a laugh Snow's worry subsided. "Where do you think you are, my daughter? This is my bedroom."

Emma peaked her head out from the blankets and her cheeks reddened. "I don't like my princess bed" She crossed her arms in distress.

"Well I'm sure there's nothing wrong with it" Snow explained. "But we can get you something different if you'd like"

"Why do I have to be all the way down the hall? It's dark there." Emma inquired.

Her antics were starting to make sense to the new mother. Snow reached out to tug her daughter into her embrace. Her frame was small and her skin was incredibly soft. Her hair smelt familiar like lilacs.

Snow found it to be the most incredible experience she had to date, just holding her child in her arms. Her eyes dampened in pleasure and threatened to spill over. Her purpose, her greater responsibility, was a mere three and a half years old and comfortable in her arms.

* * *

After a day of getting to know her family in the simplicity of this time, she put her daughter to sleep in her princess bed.

"How will I know you're still here?" Young Emma questioned as Snow drew the blankets up to her chin.

The queen smiled. "I will be right down the hall."

Emma frowned. "But you're not going to leave me?"

A sting from her past years hurt her heart. She thought of the young infant she'd abandoned on the side of the interstate twenty-eight years passed. "I'm never going to leave you."

She touched her lips to her daughter's soft cheek and left the room. Charming was sitting up in bed waiting for her.

"All maternal today aren't we Snow?" he teased. "Normally you push for her independence, but today you took to Emma differently"

She approached their bedside and sat amongst the sheets. "I'm just stuck thinking about what if she didn't have me and the life she could have been forced to live without us there for her."

He sighed. "Well that's never going to happen. Was that from your dreams last night?"

"Something like that" Snow mused.

A yawn escaped the king's mouth. "Come to bed. Good mother's need to rest too"

Something was digging in Snow's thoughts though. "I'll be with you soon. There's something I must do first" Looking puzzled he sat up and removed the covers from his waist. She stilled him with her hand. "No, you stay. I'll be right back"

Charming moved back against the pillows and Snow moved to his side. She leaned down to kiss his lips, smiling as she did so. "Hurry back" He instructed.

Snow White nodded and quickly left through the halls, down to the main floor, and out of the castle grounds. She hurried along the familiar path, drawing her hood over her hair. Her steps took to the stone like no time had passed since the last time she was here. She wandered the forest with expertise and swiftness.

The entrance to the darkness stood in front of her in twenty minutes passed. Taking a step down, she reached her hands out to steady her walk. The courage to face this alone seemed to come from her own darkness that had once grown in her heart. Reaching the bottom, Snow smelt the memorable decay. It tickled her nose and greeted her brain with disgust.

She lit the torch waiting for her hands at the start of a long, dark, underground tunnel. The murk of the wet walls chilled her pale skin as she pressed on towards her destination.

Feet away from the iron claws, an evil laugh cut through the silence. "Come to see me here, Snow White? What a treat it is."

* * *

In another place, far off from the Enchanted Forest, stood twenty eight year old Emma. She'd all but been left alone in the dark shadows of this place.


	4. three

It had been a short while since Emma had been separated from the rest of her group. Charming and Snow had fallen behind, Hook and Regina were nowhere to be found. Emma wondered if Pan had planned this; divert her off the path and eliminate the others so she could feel like the orphan she was. Well his plan wasn't going to work. She was going to get back the others and save Henry in the process. She felt brave and confident that she couldn't be swindled.

And then a voice..

"How did you end up out here alone, deary?"

* * *

Snow White approached the bars to the cell and the Dark One's face appeared in the light of her torch.

"What's wrong deary? Your new life here is unfulfilling? You're not very appreciative of the gift I've given you." Rumple sneered.

"On the contrary, I'm entirely appreciative-"

"I sense a but." His darkness interrupted.

Placing a hand on the bars, Snow drew herself closer to the shadows. "Under what terms am I here Rumple? What is this place? Am I living a dream? You've always said that magic comes with a price"

Rumple fleeted about his cell with a dance. "Oh you worry about logistics." He laughed and gave a quick bow. "Do you not have everything you've ever dreamed of having? That fresh start. The life you wanted with Emma and your Prince Charming? To make it all up to your darling daughter.. "

"But there's no hope for change if this is only a reality to me!" She pounded her hands on the chamber. "There's nothing to fix here Rumple. It's perfect. This isn't reality."

More laughter emitted from the enclosure. "First too many problems, now not enough. There's no satisfying you my dear Snow White." The green of his face was gleaming. "Look around you; feel the walls. This is as real as the place you just left. Think of it as a virtual reality. Everyone exists here, and is exactly where you'd expect them to be. You can live out your days happy, growing old with your daughter… and your husband!"

"But what about Henry?"

The Dark One touched a finger to the queen's chin and drew it across her check. "What about Henry?"

"Is he alive? Did we save him?"

"Oh that reality much still exists and will figure itself out in time, but you are here now, and like I said you can live here happy and free and have all that was rightfully yours."

"And my payment, Rumple?" She gripped both hands around the bars to face him. "All magic-"

"-comes with a price. I'm glad you're all familiar with how this works now." He stepped away from her slowly. "You've paid for this my pet, just by being here. Knowing you're here and happy has made all the much difference to me."

"But Rumple"

He raised his hand in completion. "No more 'but Rumples'. Go, be happy, leave me to my thoughts."

Still unsatisfied Snow held her position. He waved her off and she turned her back on him to walk away.

"And Snow.." He mused and she spun to face him one last time. "Just don't let the that other reality slip in and steal you away. _Be at home here_."


End file.
